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By Laura Grego
Humanity’s relationship to space changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into orbit. The simple, 184-pound aluminum sphere became the first artificial Earth-orbiting satellite, marking a stunning technical achievement and a spectacular example of the human drive toward knowledge and discovery. The launch was also a significant political achievement, adding a new dimension to the fierce competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. And it vividly demonstrated that those who can reach into space can reach around the world.
Fifty years later, the once impossible has become routine: more than 4,500 satellites have launched into orbit and more than 850 of them still operate today. A space launch is no longer the exclusive province of national governments—private companies have been launching satellites since the 1980s. More than 50 countries own satellites or a share in one, and people from around the globe, from Antarctica to Timbuktu, depend on satellites for the services they provide.
Yet even as space becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, we continue to struggle with the tension between the ability of space technology to realize dreams or create nightmares. While satellites have enormous potential to contribute to global stability and prosperity, space technology also can engender highly threatening military capabilities.
The Dangers of Space Weapons
For 50 years, outer space has been used as if it were a kind of space “Wild West”—a limitless and lawless place. Space-faring nations paid little attention to the need for rules to govern and coordinate operations in space, and to how their actions would affect not only the long-term health and usefulness of space, but also their relationships with other nations. While space is immense, the most valuable regions of space are already becoming crowded with active satellites; this high demand necessitates coordination between operators and a system for sharing the resource equitably.
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The Danger of Space Debris |
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The January 2007 Chinese ASAT test destroyed a small satellite yet generated a significant amount of debris in a portion of Earth’s atmosphere shared by many satellites. Though the risk of collision is still relatively low, continued testing or use of ASAT weapons could increase the risk greatly.
(click here for larger image) | This task is further complicated by the presence of space debris—pieces of inactive equipment, fragments of broken- up satellites and rocket bodies, and other bits of unused “junk.” Since space objects travel through orbits at very high speed, a collision with even a small piece of debris can damage or destroy a satellite.
Recognizing the importance of protecting space assets, many countries have developed voluntary guidelines to curb the proliferation of debris. Nevertheless, interest is growing among some countries in the ability to intentionally destroy satellites. The testing and use of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons for this purpose could make space debris a much bigger problem.
The United States and the Soviet Union both experimented with technological approaches to controlling the use of space, including developing and testing destructive ASAT weapons. In January 2007, China took a step down this dangerous path by destroying one of its defunct weather satellites in a test of an ASAT weapon. The force of the collision completely fragmented the Chinese satellite into orbital debris. Because this collision occurred at high altitude (around 525 miles above Earth) where there is little atmospheric drag to slow down debris, much of the debris will remain in orbit for decades, during which time it will spread out into a shell encasing Earth.
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Number of Satellites by Country |
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Because the United States owns the majority of satellites in space, it has the most to lose from the development and use of ASAT weapons, which would significantly increase the risk of damaging collisions with space debris.
(click here for larger image) | Future testing or use of such ASAT weapons by any country would significantly increase the debris population. The satellite destroyed in the Chinese ASAT test was modestly sized (about one ton); the destruction of a single large satellite, which can be as large as a school bus and weigh up to 10 tons, could by itself double the amount of dangerous debris currently at altitudes near Earth. As debris accumulates, all satellites—not just the intended targets— would experience a resulting higher risk of collision. In time, this could make it difficult to use space for the purposes to which it is uniquely suited.
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What Would We Do Without Satellites?
From modern conveniences to long-term environmental planning, satellites provide a vast array of valuable services to civilians, scientists, and the military:
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Telecommunications
Satellites not only send television signals directly to homes, but also transfer “at the scene” news broadcasts from the field to the television studio. People in remote areas and disaster sites also often rely on satellites for telephone communication.
Navigation
Navigation satellites like the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (more commonly known as GPS) use satellites to pinpoint an object’s location on Earth to within a few meters. GPS is crucial in situations where other navigation tools may not exist, such as a ship navigating in bad weather or military troops lost in unfamiliar territory.
Business and Finance
Satellites can rapidly transfer information between widely dispersed locations, allowing a company to perform inventory management among all its branches, as well as provide
instant credit card authorization for customers. Financial transactions from automated teller machines and pay-at-the-pump gas stations are often transferred via satellite as well.
Weather and Climate
In addition to providing meteorologists with data on developing weather patterns, satellites help scientists analyze long-term patterns of rainfall, vegetation cover, and emissions of heat-trapping gases.
Safety
Earth observation satellites monitor forest fires, oil spills, and airborne pollution, as well as the ocean and wind currents that can affect them; together, this information helps organize emergency responders and environmental cleanup. Satellites can also link to distress radio beacons, leading rescuers quickly and accurately to people in remote locations.
Economic Development
In developing countries like India, where residents are separated by rough terrain and different languages, communications
satellites can provide people in remote areas access to educational and medical training and information that would otherwise not reach them.
Astrophysics
Satellite-based telescopes have been critical to understanding phenomena such as pulsars and black holes that are best or only observable at electromagnetic frequencies accessible from space. They can also provide images of celestial objects without the blurring effect of Earth’s atmosphere.
For more information and examples of the services satellites provide, visit the Global Security section of the UCS website at www.ucsusa.org/global_security.
| The dangers of weaponizing space are not just debris-related. Military war games show that the loss of important satellites, such as reconnaissance satellites, can spark a quick escalation in a conflict. Suspicion over other countries’ desire to control the use of space, and fear about the security of space assets, could also threaten to trigger a space arms race. Such action would not only divert economic and political resources from other important issues, but also hinder international cooperation necessary to make progress on global challenges like nuclear nonproliferation, climate change, and terrorism.
The Next 50 Years
The choices we make today will determine whether or not space can continue to be a valuable resource for global communications, scientific, economic, and intelligence activity—and whether military space activity will generate instability here on Earth. In choosing our path forward, we can look to the past for guidance.
Shortly after the space age began, the international community recognized that space needs governing laws and principles in order to sustain its peaceful use. To that end, on October 10, 1967, almost exactly a decade after the Sputnik 1 launch, the Outer Space Treaty entered into force. It has since been ratified by almost 100 nations, including all of the current space-faring countries.
The Outer Space Treaty bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space or on celestial objects, and laid out the principles by which the use of space should be guided: The exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind. Much has changed in the 40 years since the treaty’s ratification. There are new space technologies, many more space-faring countries, and satellites have become crucial to economic, civil, and military life. We should reinvigorate the legal and diplomatic efforts that shepherded the creation of the original treaty and develop international laws that can manage the challenges of space security today.
The anniversary of both the space age and the space arms control age present an important reminder of the need to protect the promise of space for ourselves and future generations. The people of the world have benefited enormously from the peaceful use of space and can continue to do so if we work to preserve this valuable resource. By revisiting the Outer Space Treaty, expanding its scope, and strengthening its reach within the international community, we can ensure that the next 50 years in space are as prosperous and peaceful as the last 50 have been.
Laura Grego is a staff scientist in the
Global Security Program.
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